Disclaimer: I am a big fan of UFC and MMA in general. In no way this is "everybody sucks, UFC is dying" post and/or I am some JBG fanatic who is nostalgic about Robbie-Rory type of fights. I have been genuinely dissatisfied with UFCs WW product for the past few years and will try to bring some objective criticism.
So what sparked me to write this. Colby Covington. No, not his last fight which was yet another disappointing WW title fight for me performance-wise (thanks to Leon too), but one interesting thing he mentioned during press-conference. I've actually had this idea for some time but never bothered to verify this until he actually said it: "Most men fall in this weight range so I'm competing in the toughest division". And he's right - not about the toughest divison though unfortunately but about the weight bit. The median male weight is about 180lbs so if weight cutting considered the majority of men would compete in WW if all were MMA fighters. What does this mean? This means that the fiercest and most skilled competition is supposed to be in WW but do we see that in todays UFC? We are criticizing LHW and HW, but for the little pool they have they are managing to produce more entertainment and skilled fighters. Do we not agree that Jon, Aspinall, Jiri, Alex and many more are far more exciting and skilled than Leon, Colby, Belal, Wonderboy? And that despite the fact that the majority of men of this size prefer to choose other sports to pursue. So for the few crumbs that HW and LHW is left with I think they are doing pretty fantastic.
Let me put it into a bit of perspective - in October 2018 Khabib and Conor fought and had all the eyes drawn to this event. The best MMA wrestler fought arguably the best MMA striker at the time. One month prior WW also had a title fight. Remember who fought? Thats right - Woodley and Till. Arguably two of the biggest flops in recent MMA times. This was considered the cream of the crop of the division at the time ..
Lets discuss, are current and recent WW fighters really that good? I've noticed that one dimensional fighters (i.e. strikers/wrestlers) aren't really great in their own domain. For example Leon - is he really an outstanding striker? The guy's pillow fisted point figher and I cant remember a single highlight of his outside of his Usmans KO .. He isn't Alex Perreira, Silva, he isn't Gaethje/Volk/Max, prime Conor.
Colby, Belal - supposedly elite wrestlers. Are they Khabib/Islam level though? These guys imposed their will and actually crushed their opponents when taking them down and lets not forget that they could stand toe to toe with elite strikers. Colby and Belal are just blankets literally, and so was Usman somewhat (but at least he had a powerful jab).
Wonderboy - just like Leon and I never understood why this guy is so beloved by everyone. Sure he is a really likeable guy, but for the hell of me I can't remember any of his highlights either. All I remember him doing is doing this silly karate hopping and spamming his trademark pointless side kick like a Mortal Kombat character.
And the rest is the same. I don't want to list the rest of currents and resents (Masvidal, Usman, let alone Askren) .. they are all quite similar in this sense. As for "well-rounders" , well nobody stands out either, except Shavkat.
The division has been stalled by divas, and the lack of names to look forward to is concerning. Shavkat stands out, but there should be at least 10 fighters of his caliber in the rankings.
In conclusion, the WW division seems full of not-so-elite fighters in their own domain and mediocre "well-rounders." UFC needs to address this, as logically, this division should be the most skilled and spectacular. What are your thoughts?
So what sparked me to write this. Colby Covington. No, not his last fight which was yet another disappointing WW title fight for me performance-wise (thanks to Leon too), but one interesting thing he mentioned during press-conference. I've actually had this idea for some time but never bothered to verify this until he actually said it: "Most men fall in this weight range so I'm competing in the toughest division". And he's right - not about the toughest divison though unfortunately but about the weight bit. The median male weight is about 180lbs so if weight cutting considered the majority of men would compete in WW if all were MMA fighters. What does this mean? This means that the fiercest and most skilled competition is supposed to be in WW but do we see that in todays UFC? We are criticizing LHW and HW, but for the little pool they have they are managing to produce more entertainment and skilled fighters. Do we not agree that Jon, Aspinall, Jiri, Alex and many more are far more exciting and skilled than Leon, Colby, Belal, Wonderboy? And that despite the fact that the majority of men of this size prefer to choose other sports to pursue. So for the few crumbs that HW and LHW is left with I think they are doing pretty fantastic.
Let me put it into a bit of perspective - in October 2018 Khabib and Conor fought and had all the eyes drawn to this event. The best MMA wrestler fought arguably the best MMA striker at the time. One month prior WW also had a title fight. Remember who fought? Thats right - Woodley and Till. Arguably two of the biggest flops in recent MMA times. This was considered the cream of the crop of the division at the time ..
Lets discuss, are current and recent WW fighters really that good? I've noticed that one dimensional fighters (i.e. strikers/wrestlers) aren't really great in their own domain. For example Leon - is he really an outstanding striker? The guy's pillow fisted point figher and I cant remember a single highlight of his outside of his Usmans KO .. He isn't Alex Perreira, Silva, he isn't Gaethje/Volk/Max, prime Conor.
Colby, Belal - supposedly elite wrestlers. Are they Khabib/Islam level though? These guys imposed their will and actually crushed their opponents when taking them down and lets not forget that they could stand toe to toe with elite strikers. Colby and Belal are just blankets literally, and so was Usman somewhat (but at least he had a powerful jab).
Wonderboy - just like Leon and I never understood why this guy is so beloved by everyone. Sure he is a really likeable guy, but for the hell of me I can't remember any of his highlights either. All I remember him doing is doing this silly karate hopping and spamming his trademark pointless side kick like a Mortal Kombat character.
And the rest is the same. I don't want to list the rest of currents and resents (Masvidal, Usman, let alone Askren) .. they are all quite similar in this sense. As for "well-rounders" , well nobody stands out either, except Shavkat.
The division has been stalled by divas, and the lack of names to look forward to is concerning. Shavkat stands out, but there should be at least 10 fighters of his caliber in the rankings.
In conclusion, the WW division seems full of not-so-elite fighters in their own domain and mediocre "well-rounders." UFC needs to address this, as logically, this division should be the most skilled and spectacular. What are your thoughts?
